The Aug. 16 episode of Childrens Hospital will definitely air on Aug. 16. That's what creator and star of the Adult Swim show Rob Corddry was willing to dish about Thursday's episode when he spoke with Hollywood.com. Well, almost all he was willing to dish.
"Here’s what I’ve been told I can say: I cannot say that Madonna is a guest star on our show, especially tonight. I cannot say that. I cannot say tonight’s episode is guest-starring, because I’m not able to say that legally. So I won’t. People are either going to be really excited or really disappointed. I can’t wait," he jokes. Corddry's short-form comedy series is, with or without the Madonna listed in Thursday's episode's official log line, clearly letting loose all over the late night comedy landscape. And fans are loving it. Perhaps it's because the series has lined up fantastic guest stars this season, like not-Madonna and actual Jon Hamm, who Corddry says is officially a comedy dude. "He’s also this really funny guy, who was cursed with this Adonis, manly thing," says Corddry. Oh yes, what a pesky "thing" that Hamm's got going for him. "He got Mad Men, and it’s great, but it’s great that he’s doing what he likes to do as well – not that he doesn’t like Mad Men," adds Corddry. But there's something more. Something beyond star power that makes Childrens work. Corddry attributes a great deal of that to the freedom offered at a place like Adult Swim. "Adult Swim is the only place on television for absurdity," says the actor, who says the network has a lock on an important demographic - the 18-30 set - which allows its shows to go a little more off the rails. (Keep in mind, this is a place that breeds series like Assy McGee and Delocated.) "The head of the network, Mike Lazzo, is very much like a punk rock president. He’s just like, 'Do what you love and we’ll support you,'" gushes Corddry. But what does Corddry want to do? He wants to reap the benefits of the end of 30 Rock. Yes, Lemonites, there are benefits - benefits like Corddry bringing his friend Jack McBrayer on for a new role. "We have a whole thing planned out for him. I think he’s going to play against type, a real hard ass ... He’s going to play the boss of the paramedic, Chet (Brian Huskey) ... They’re friends in real life," he says. Of course, they're no ink on paper, but how do you say "no" to a guy so committed to his character, he wears mounds of clown paint in every single scene? (You don't say "no," Mr. McBrayer.) "Staff Dance" airs at Midnight, Thursday, Aug. 16 on Adult Swim. And Madonna may or may not be in it, but there will definitely be plenty of reasons to laugh. Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler. [Photo Credit: Adult Swim] More: Checking In at Childrens Hospital: Interview with Rob Corddry The Best TV You're Not Watching: 'Childrens Hospital' 'Childrens Hospital': Long-Awaited 'Party Down' Reunion is Pretty Brief

The battle over unpaid interns and the legality of such arrangements isn't a new one. In all sectors of American business, unpaid internships are coming under fire, but no legal action against internship bosses has been as heated as the one between two former interns for Fox Searchlight's Black Swan and the film company. Now, the plaintiffs are taking the battle beyond the Fox subsidiary and up to the mountain: they're setting their sights on all Fox Entertainment Group internships.
According to court documents obtained by THR, the plaintiffs aim to "broaden the scope of the case to include all interns who participated in Fox Entertainment Group's internship program." Of course, there are a lot of moving parts to this legal puzzle. To make it a bit easier, we've boiled it down to the five need-to-know nuggets:
1. The Problem Allegedly Exists Across All FEG Companies: The plaintiffs claim that until July 2012, all FEG interns were not paid, but were classified as employees under workers' compensation laws.
2. It's No Longer Just a Production Issue: The lawsuit is getting so large, it's expanding beyond just on-set internships. The plaintiffs want to include corporate internships as well as production internships in their lawsuit.
3. Two New Plaintiffs Are Coming to the Table: Eden Antalik was a corporate intern at FEG and Kanene Gratts was a production intern on (500) Days of Summer.
4. Labor Department Rules Say Un-Paid Interns Can't Replace Actual Employees: Yet, Fox interns "are a crucial labor force on its productions, functioning as production assistants and bookkeepers and performing secretarial and janitorial work. … In misclassifying many of its workers as unpaid interns, Fox Searchlight has denied them the benefits that the law affords to employees," according to first lawsuit filed by the plaintiffs.
5. Fox Says Black Swan Interns Weren't Theirs, But a Larger Lawsuit Would Negate The Issue: Fox says Fox Searchlight did not retain any interns who worked on the production before Black Swan came under the Searchlight name. This expansion beyond the Darren Aronofsky film and into the corporate internship program, however, could render that claim useless.
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler [Photo Credit: Fox Searchlight] More: Hollywood.com at the 'Black Swan' Premiere in New York - VIDEO Portman's 'Black Swan' Controversy: Much Ado About Nothing? 'Black Swan' Interns Sue

Jesse Pinkman is about to spend a little more time as someone else's delivery boy.
Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul, who rose to fame as the young Meth dealer alongside Bryan Cranston on AMC's Emmy-winning series, just nabbed a major role in Long Way Down, an adaptation of Nick Hornby's beloved novel. Paul plays a pizza delivery boy caught up in a suicide pact with three other characters — a talk show host, teenage girl, and mother of a disabled child — to be played by Pierce Brosnan, Imogen Poots, and Toni Collette, respectively, according to Deadline. The dark tale follows the quartet as they meet up at the top of a tall building to complete their pact on New Year's Eve. Clearly, Paul has no desire to take on a project that lets him explore the lighter side of life.
Should this film be successful, it could be the vehicle Paul needs to break out beyond his television prowess, much like Cranston has attempted with roles in this summer's Total Recall and Rock of Ages, or Mad Men's Jon Hamm has done successfully with roles in Bridesmaids and Friends with Kids.
By the time the film starts shooting in London this September, we may as well start calling Paul the Prince of Darkness. Sorry, Ozzy Osbourne.
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler.
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Clearly, True Blood had a plan all along. We should have trusted that the series would wrap up a few of its extraneous storylines eventually, it just took a hell of a long time to get there. And sure, some of those storylines - ahem, Terry and the Ifrit - came out of absolutely nowhere just so Scott Foley could have a guest star role, we’re not going to dwell on the series past mistakes. The point is, that at least for the final three episodes of the season, True Blood is actually poised to do this thing right.
After sewing up Lafayette’s Brujo storyline and Terry’s smoke monster mess, the series is finally ready to give Hoyt the ol’ boot to Alaska. (Sweet baby Jesus, don’t let the cameras follow him there.) He even conveniently had Jess glamor him so he wouldn’t remember her or Jason. Of course, this opens up a world of hurt for both Jess and Jason, but it’s clear they’ve got plenty going on in their own lives to keep them nice and busy.
Jason is helping Sookie, who’s now permanently buddied up with her brother after the coroner fed on her and met an untimely death with a chopstick in funniest and best opening scene of the whole season. Watching Sookie get frustrated (and occasionally drunk) this season has been one of the best character changes in the show. We can’t watch her be Miss Bon Temps for years on end. Angry Sookie is good Sookie.
And angry Sookie is on the trail of her parents’ vampire killer, Warlow. After coming up empty in Bud Dearborn’s files, Jason does for Sookie what every mystery TV show or movie should have taught her: take her dead Gran’s advice very literally. Jason discovers an ancient scroll under the floorboards of Gran’s bed, because obviously “look under the bed” did not refer to the piles of old report cars in shoeboxes, Sookie.
The problem is, the scroll is written in some hieroglyphic language, and the scholar Sookie and Jason consult says it doesn’t look like any human language he’s ever seen. Of course, they take it to Claude, who reads it, but says it doesn’t make any sense. They need an older fairy to try and make sense of it, so they call in a very pregnant Mirella (the fairy who had sex with Andy in the woods, and judging from the Holly-Andy starry-eyed lovers scene, that’s going to be a problem soon). She uses fairy light to read the scroll and determine that Sookie’s ancestors promised the first Stackhouse fairy - which just happens to be Sookie - to Warlow. What’s worse, Sookie now has to worry about the entire vampire population being intoxicated by her blood too. And Russell has finally severed ties with the Authority because he’s desperate to find her, breed her, and uncover the secret of her blood. Basically, this is a really horrible moment for Bill and Eric to be high on Lilith.
Next: Eric goes Dark Side and Pam brings back her mad/happy face.Unfortunately, Bill really does seem to be buying into this whole vampire Bible nonsense (sorry, holdouts, it’s not looking so good). He brings Jessica to the Authority headquarters and instructs her to study the vampire Bible - which is exactly what she was escaping after leaving her mortal life behind. What’s worse, is that he’s trying to bring Eric to this dark side. He and Nora force Eric to drink Lilith’s blood while Nora takes a few drops like a hungry little puppy. Together, they see a vision of Godric, who tells them they have to fight the fight right before Lilith appears and kills Godric. It seems that Nora has come to Eric’s side, and perhaps she has. Our only indication is Eric’s hokey “acceptance” of the Lilith way and his induction back into Bill and Salome’s little council.
And while Eric’s true allegiance is at the forefront of our minds, we do have to deal with Russell. He’s kind of a giant, undefeatable ancient vampire. No biggie. He is frustrated by the focus on scripture in this fun new ripper cult he’s joined. He wants to spend his time hunting down fairies so vampires don’t have to be governed by the sun. Luckily, Sookie happens to be implicated in this whole discussion, so while we’re not sure of the political workings inside Eric’s brain, we do know that he (and Bill for that matter) still hold their regard for Sookie above all of this political and theological nonsense. Which is giant relief and simultaneous pain, because if they care so much why are they just sitting there? Oh, because if they up and leave to save a human, Salome might have them turned into red goo like they did to Molly at the beginning of the episode? I guess that’s a pretty good reason.
Steve Newlin, on the other hand, is well-deserving of a stake through the heart at this point. As cute (and completely disturbing) as it was to see Russell and Newlin dance to Katy Perry’s “Teenage Dream” … in a pile of dead bodies, Newlin is more grating than he was when he was leading the Fellowship of the Sun. And his smile was enough to make me squirm at that point in the series. Newlin not only squeals with joy when he witnesses the True Death (Molly’s) for the first time, he also treats Emma, the werewolf, like she’s an actual dog. It’s demoralizing and not even close to being funny. He’s just an awful little boy - but we knew that when he tried to buy Jason from Jessica at the beginning of the season.
Luckily for little Emma, Sam and Luna manage to sneak into the Authority by chasing Newlin to his media appearance in New Orleans with Sam’s magically appearing airline miles. (Isn’t this supposed to be fantasy? Shouldn’t these two shifters have turned into bald eagles and flown themselves to Nola?) When they reach Newlin’s dressing room, they turn into mice and sneak into his bag so they can find Emma wherever Newlin is living these days. Unfortunately for them, Newlin is living at the Authority headquarters these days, so even though their clever plan will lead them to Emma, their ability to escape without being killed is pretty lacking.
And speaking of lacking, Pam’s business has practically come to a halt with the vampire attack rate going through the roof and the lack of Tru Blood supply. Humans are hiding, and vamps certainly aren’t saddling up to buy martinis. Still, Elijah - the new sheriff who looks suspiciously like the dreadlock-laden kid from Glee if he were a bigger fan of ‘80s glam rock - demands payment, saying that the “rates” have gone up. After he hands them each and insulting 20 bucks, he also demands that their Area creates 30 new vampires by the end of the month on pain of Pam losing everything, including her progeny.
Finally, Tara decides to take matters into her own hands - it just might also cost her and Pam a whole lot more than the vampy Fangtasia property. She lures the Judas Priest worshipper - I mean, really, why else would he dress like that? - into the bar so she can behead him. Pam, using her mad/happy face again, is intrigued by Tara’s gumption. Pam had decided they’d just give up Fangtasia and live “in the wind” which honestly, in the political, bloodlusty environment they’re facing sounds a lot less like a Bob Dylan song and a lot more like trouble. Luckily, Tara’s stunt determines that the pair is going to stand their ground against the Authority - it just might not be as simple as tricking a sheriff into his True Death when the big guns get there.
Next: Cleaner plot be damned, we still have a million questions for True Blood...See? Aren’t things already simpler? Wasn’t this week’s plot so much easier to understand? Aren’t you happy that we actually had the time to witness Jessica and Jason get truly emotional over losing their best friend to the glamoring he demanded? These questions are easy to answer: Yes, all around.
There are a few other questions this episode left us with that aren’t so easy to answer. Like:
Why the hell are Bill and Eric just standing there while Russell basically declares he’s going after Sookie?
Why don’t they sense her fear and pain any more? They were never able to turn off their feelings so easily?
Seriously, how stupid are Sam and Luna? Did they really think they could get into the Authority and get out successfully?
Where is Alcide? And more importantly, is his shirt there too?
Is Mirella going to have a baby Andy? And why, oh why, would we want more confused policemen on this show?
Did Bill really say that the Authority’s main chamber dates back to the Byzantine era? Why? How? Would the ancient vampires really have migrated over to whatever North America was then so they could build an underground chamber in Louisiana?* Why would anything have been built there? Wouldn’t it have been built somewhere, oh I don’t know, the empire the time period was named after actually existed? Or is this, perhaps, one of those Japanese garden situations, in which some member of the Vampire Authority paid someone a lot of money to dismantle a chamber in Italy and have it perfectly reassembled Stateside?
*Sub-question: Why is the center of all vampire culture located outside of New Orleans? And why do all the huge debates about vampires take place on New Orleans television? Isn’t this supposed to be an international issue?
Alright. So True Blood hasn’t managed to solve all of its problems. But at least it’s got the most cumbersome ones out of the way. And, the series is managing to offer up a serious shake-up in a dynamic that even up until last season was all about who Sookie was going to agree to have sex with that week. It’s fun getting beyond the over-played love triangle - but at the same time, it’s nice to see the glimmers of recognition and concern on Bill and Eric’s faces so we know it’s still somewhat there.
Did this week’s episode get you excited for the final two? Are you happy that True Blood got rid of the extra side plots? Do you think they’ll just come up with more ridiculousness to convolute the plot again?
Follow Kelsea on Twitter @KelseaStahler.
[Image: HBO]
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"Oh, I wouldn't call it a remake. It's more of a __________"
Taking classics and cinematic obscurities and remaking them into modern movies has been a standard from the beginning of Hollywood. (Fun fact: by 1933, there had already been five versions of Alice in Wonderland. Times never change.) But only in recent years has buzzword jargon been so essential to the process. No longer are film studios in the "remake" business. The word comes with baggage — no one, the filmmakers or the film-watchers, wants to feel like they're regurgitating — and so, brand mining and expansion has taken a whole new turn.
By describing new projects in hyperdetail, Hollywood has found a way to sidestep "remake." Thank you, jargon! To help you understand what all these variations of "remake" really mean, Hollywood.com has compiled a rundown of the latest and greatest in franchise-friendly buzzwords:
Reimagining
Thanks to the magic of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (the 14th big screen adaptation for those counting), this became the go-to term for timeless tales making their way back to the big screen. A "reimagined" movie isn't the previous incarnation you know and love — now it has more CG. And curlicue architecture.
Retelling
An off-shoot of "reimagining," "retelling" is a director or producer twisting the approach to their source material a weeeeee bit. Tonally different, but not unfamiliar. After Batman Begins, a retelling of the Batman origin story, every property under the sun was overhauled. Suddenly, everyone wanted "the dark version." Which is why we're eventually getting the gritty version of Little Mermaid.
Reinvention
NBC recently announced that it would be reinventing the 1960s CBS comedy The Munsters. Why is it hard to call it a straight remake? The show will be played as an hour-long drama, constructed from the supernatural elements of the original but with the modern genre spin that's perfectly acceptable on the 2012 small screen. "Reinvention."
Reinterpretation
You can only remake the same story in the exact same way so many times (well, in Hollywood, that's up for debate, but let's pretend for now). So what do you do if you want your own stab at a time-honored narrative? "Reinterpret," of course. Filter a story through an alternative world and you've got yourself a whole other movie. Say you want to tell the story of Easter, but you don't want to live in the shadow of the countless other Biblical blockbusters that have made their way to screen. Simple solution: tell it with barnyard animals. Boom.
Modernization
"Modernization" is what happens when a producer wants to reinterpret a text, but decides it's any time period or setting but right here and now is too boring for movie-going audiences. This isn't your Pappy's Shakespeare/Dickens/Bergerac or whatever literary figure may accidentally remind young people of high school English. These are movies! Why read Dracula when you can see the modernized Dracula 2000? You know it's hip, because it has the year in the title.
Reboot
A favorite of the 2010 and beyond crowd, "reboot" has quickly taken the place as the go-to back-up to the "remake." Studios don't remake their properties that came out 30, 20 or even 10 years ago. They reboot them. The new generation needs their own version of Total Recall and Spider-Man, so Hollywood gives them a swift reboot in the butt with a fresh cast, fresh director and (hopefully) fresh vision. The goal of a reboot isn't to recreate the existing version — even if that's the case 50% of the end products.
Preboot
Fan expectations is Hollywood's biggest hurdle to concocting new and improved versions of well-known properties. On one hand, they can't cater to them — a movie has to play to the widest audience possible. But angry fans are often the loudest, and negative buzz permeates. That's why there's no better creative weapon than a "preboot." Think J.J. Abrams' Star Trek or the recent X-Men: First Class. A preboot acknowledges the established history of a property, a respectful nod to diehards, while paving over it with a new creative direction. Time travel is a preboot's best friend.
Semi-Sequel
"Semi-Sequel' can play two distinct roles: either used to tie a movie unofficially to a famous milestone of the past (think the twisted fantasy Return to OZ and its classic predecessor) or as a label for something that really just needs an identifiable anchor. Judd Apatow's upcoming This Is 40 is billed as a semi-sequel to Knocked Up, not because it requires the groundwork of another film to tell its story, but so there's noticeable connective tissue for people wondering why they should fork over $12 to see it in theaters. Whatever works, funny people.
Spin-Off
Is Elektra a sequel to Daredevil or its own entity? That's what three people (including myself) were asking themselves when the Jennifer Garner-led movie was first announced. Since it lived within the continuity of the established Daredevil universe, Fox considered it a spin-off. Beefing it up with mysticism and a whole lot ninjas make the endeavor suspect. But hey, it really can't be considered a remake!
Sidequel
Here's where the line between "remake," "reboot," and "spin-off" blur. It could be argued that this weekend's The Bourne Legacy fits into all three categories. It follows a similar path as the original Bourne Identity (inching towards straight remake territory), it features a new actor in a solidified franchise (reboot), but it's part of the grander Bourne mythology (Jason Bourne's story is weaved through the new hero's own mission). This calls for the "sidequel" — the cinematic equivalent of an amoeba splitting in two. Bourne Legacy and the films comprising the first Bourne trilogy are technically two different beasts, but they're composed from the same genetic material.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Universal Pictures]
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In the past few years, superhero movies have become one of Hollywood's top commodities. Along with this shift toward mainstream relevance has come an increase in the community of filmmakers willing to contribute to the genre. Since it's no longer "niche" to handle a comic book adaptation, studios begin to vie for all sorts of names to attach to new projects. Marvel has employed artists like Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh, Joe Johnston, and Joss Whedon (who has recently been assigned responsibility for The Avengers 2).
DC Comics, on the other hand, has churned out fewer pictures, and is an organization largely associated with one behind-the-scenes name: Christopher Nolan. Along with his recently concluded Batman trilogy, Nolan holds writing and producing credits on the forthcoming Superman film Man of Steel (directed by Zack Snyder). But the filmmaker has been open about his decision to leave Bruce Wayne and Clark Kent behind after this next turn, asserting that he will not be on board for DC's developing Justice League movie. As such, it should be no surprise that Warner Bros. is seeking another high-profile director to handle the project (which has recently picked up a writer), but if the rumors mentioned by Variety hold true, their top choice is a shocking one: Ben Affleck.
To date, Affleck has had two directorial projects released. His debut was the 2007 mystery drama Gone Baby Gone, starring Ed Harris, Morgan Freeman, and Affleck's younger brother Casey as a private detective hired to track down a missing four-year-old girl. In 2010, Affleck delivered the more widely-appreciated The Town, which starred the director as the central figure in a group of lifelong con men. In both pictures, the city of Boston stands as a significant character in the identity of the story and of the people therein. Affleck's third feature is the international hostage crisis drama/thriller Argo, which seems like a departure for the artist, yet not too far from his established wheelhouse.
But Justice League will be different. Rather, it should be different. Granted, a Justice League flick in the vein of The Town is hardly inconceivable; the idea of humanizing the superheroes involved down to the level of well-meaning Southie roughs could work... but it's probably not really what anybody is looking forward to. Yes, Justice League should be real and gritty, as opposed to The Avengers' near cartoonish whimsy (which worked perfectly for the Avengers, but DC is an entirely different animal), but this calls for delicate handling.
Nolan made it work in his Batman series; the trailers for Man of Steel predict another victorious embodiment of this mentality. But Affleck's pictures lack this kind of gravity. They might be stories about the down-and-dirty heroes and villains of a Gotham-in-its-own-right town, but you don't find yourself as ensconced in the inner workings of Doug MacRay and Patrick Kenzie as you might hope to. Certainly not to the degree that you do in Nolan's Batman movies.
In a pre-The Dark Knight world, Affleck handling Justice League would probably fly just fine. Audiences hadn't seen a real examination of superheroes, so the demeanor of Affleck's Gone Baby Gone and The Town would apply quite interestingly to the adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and the like. But now, the world is used to its caped heroes packed with supernatural weight — at least on the DC side. Affleck might be better suited for Marvel. He has a proven ability to excite and keep interest. Whereas Marvel has crafted a world in which fun and excitement take precedent, people approaching a DC movie look for real introspection. While Argo does look like a step up from both of the director's previous pictures, we can't help but feel uncertain about the idea of Affleck handling a Justice League movie with the required degree of sincerity.
Guardians of the Galaxy, however... that's a movie I'd like to see Affleck tackle.
[Photo Credit: David Edwards/Daily Celeb]
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Jay Roach’s political comedy couldn’t have come at a better time. Just as the U.S. is beginning to suffer from the fatigue that comes with enduring the final months of the heated presidential campaign between Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis give us exactly what we need: a good laugh.
The Campaign stars Ferrell as Conservative Senate shoe-in Cam Newton who gets himself in a bit of a campaigning pickle – if you can call a widely publicized sexual slip-up a pickle – and prompts the powers that be (an evil duo courtesy of the always fantastic John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) to bring in a ringer: Marty Huggins (Galifianakis). Huggins is flanked by his two trusty pugs and spends his days giving empty trolley tours of his tiny North Carolina town – a naïve happy existence that flummoxes his former political operator of a father (Brian Cox). But once Marty’s appointed campaign manager gangster Tim (a ruthless and surprisingly hilarious Dylan McDermott) Pretty-Womans the grinning familial misfit into a standard cutthroat political candidate the messy misinformation-driven games begin.
Everything we’ve ever feared or discovered about our shiny politicians during campaign season is magnified for the sake of this 90-minute cathartic joke. Right as Romney and Obama are getting headlines for the underhanded loosely regulated practice that is the campaign commercial Ferrell and Galifianakis’ characters take the seemingly lawless practice to a wonderful hyperbolic place where having a mustache makes you a friend of Sadam Hussein and splicing quotes to blaspheme your opponent is kosher. Oh wait that last part is actually true.
This story from frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay along with Chris Henchy and Shawn Harwell plays on the clichés of the campaign trail and dresses them up with baby-punching and butt-licking. Right out of the gate we’re treated to Ferrell cheating on his wife with a squealing harlot in a porta-potty. The writers have no mercy for the political world and coincidentally neither do most of us. And even as the film stretches the limits of our ability to stomach schlocky gross gags it’s not entirely uncalled for. In fact this over-the-top flick is practically an extension of the way many of us view the idea of campaigning in the U.S. – the key is abject cynicism.
Raunchy gags are the name of the game but The Campaign doesn’t shirk the necessary weight of its source material. Sure Ferrell’s requisite nude scene merits a few giggles but it’s the moments that are centered on speeches and strategy that really make the film. They’re rife with spot-on frustrated commentary about the emptiness of political speeches and promises and draped in the hilarious inflections of the films’ funnymen.
But beyond the parts that make us laugh hard enough to eke out a sideways tear The Campaign actually has something that most raunchy Ferrell comedies only purport deliver: a heart-warming gooey center. We can chalk this up to Galifianikis’ Marty who represents the political fantasy we try to believe in every election: the existence of a truly honest well-meaning politician. He’s the guy who runs on the platform that “Washington is a mess” and he actually believes he can clean it up. When Cam is running his mouth about loving America Marty is the one who actually offers up idealistic solutions. To some extent Marty is a character we’ve seen before but he’s this bright spot that keeps The Campaign from becoming a long-form rant.
In addition to Galifianakis’ lovable Marty we find gems in the form of McDermott – whose phantom-like presence throughout the film is always worth a laugh – and newcomer Katherine La Nasa as Rose Cam’s gut-wrenchingly opportunistic Barbie of a wife. Oddly enough a big name like Jason Sudeikis receives low-billing this time around and perhaps it’s because his role is a rather mild one for a man who’s solidified himself as the overgrown frat-boy du jour. Still it’s Galifianakis who carries the film and Farrell’s usual shtick that provides the platform for his character’s unavoidable goodness.
The Campaign is a surprising oddly adorable summer comedy combining the disgusting cringe-worthy visuals we’ve come to expect from a Will Ferrell flick with the brains we hope for any time we see the word “political” tied to a film.

Here's a testament to The Dark Knight Rises: Even one and a half weeks later, we're still thinking about it. Whether it's debating the blockbuster's crazy ending, juggling its political overtones, mulling over where the story goes now or predicting director Christopher Nolan's Oscar chances, TDKR is (and will probably be for the rest of 2012) a hot topic.
While we have the Caped Crusader and his sprawling universe of characters on our minds, we here at Hollywood.com felt it imperative to ask, "what's on Batman's brain?" For all the action and danger Nolan conjured up for his Dark Knight trilogy, for the compelling performance delivered by Christian Bale over three movies, we as the audience never really got a look into the head of our main character. He's an ordinary guy after all — so what are the little things Bruce Wayne obsesses over in the moments he's not clobbering bad guys?
Finally, all is revealed.
Check out this exclusive infographic that pulls back the curtain on Batman's inner monologue, a swirling set of thoughts that show off a new side of the famed superhero. Click to enlarge:
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Yes, Christopher Nolan, we know. You're not making anymore Batman movies. But that doesn't mean the best of Batman has come and gone. We've seen The Dark Knight. We've seen The Dark Knight Rises. And now, we can see The Dark Knight Returns... an adaptation from DC Animation of the titular four-issue comic book by Frank Miller.
The story, published in 1986, features a band of mutants that rises up to terrorize Gotham (interestingly, the central figure in this movement is a hulking, masked monster... sounds similar to another famed Batman enemy). Additionally, familiar baddies like the Joker and Two-Face play roles, while Batman is assisted by Alfred, Commissioner Gordon, and a young woman named Carrie Kelly who dons the identity of Robin. Selina Kyle also does her usual "grey area" shtick.
Much like Nolan's TDKR, Returns features Bruce Wayne returning to the aid of Gotham to defeat the tyrannical mutants after an extended leave of absence. However, Returns also involves other DC Comics heroes, such as Superman, Wonder Woman, and Green Arrow. The Dark Knight Returns will be available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Download on September 25. Check out the new trailer: More: 'The Dark Knight Rises' Oscar Potential: Is It a Best Picture Contender? Politics of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’: Is Batman of the One Percent or the 99? Batman Beyond: 'Dark Knight Rises' and Rebooting the Caped Crusader

In 2008, a Best Picture nomination for Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight looked like a sure thing. Though "popcorn cinema" didn't have a track record for nabbing spots on the list — between 1999 and '08, only The Sixth Sense and the Lord of the Rings trilogy stood out as both "prestige" and blockbuster fare — many considered Nolan's second Batman movie to be the real deal. Amazing visuals, poignant themes, a standout performance by the late Heath Ledger, and rave reviews across the board were the perfect awards equation. Then, after months of speculation, the nominees were finally announced. The Dark Knight was noticeably absent from the Best Picture list.
Ledger went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, while the film itself won a Sound Editing award and earned nominations for Art Direction, Cinematography, Editing, Makeup, Sound Mixing, and Visual Effects. But even four years later, the missing nominations for The Dark Knight and Nolan are widely considered one of the Academy's more egregious snubs. Now it's The Dark Knight Rises' time to run the Oscar race — will it fare any better? Once again, the evidence for Best Picture success is there, but award season prognosticators are playing it safe. No one wants another 2008.
"Without factoring in any films that might pop up on the schedule between now and December, there are probably, realistically, 19 films that could be in the Best Picture conversation," says Erik Childress, Vice President of the Chicago Film Critics Association. The consistency of Academy members to nominate films that fit the "Oscar bill" — often dramas, usually star-studded, and with source material or talent behind the camera that gives it an evident Hollwood pedigree — allows savvy award seers to accurately predict what may or may not be fodder for consideration. With that mind, Childress believes we've only seen a few movies so far that could wind up in conversation by year's end. "Only four of those films have been released as of yet: The Avengers, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom and The Dark Knight Rises. If The Avengers isn't rewarded for being the biggest hit of the year (not to mention one of the best reviewed), voters can look to Nolan's film as being the more serious of the two and reward it as part of a larger landscape."
In 2009, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts &amp; Sciences (the enterprise behind the Oscars) threw Hollywood a curveball with a rule that dramatically changed the award season. For the first time, ten films were nominated for Best Picture allowing more movies with less votes slip into the category. The impact of the rule was immediately apparent: In '09, indie darlings like Precious and A Serious Man made the cut, while two sci-fi flicks — Avatar and District 9 — breached the top ten. In 2010, the Best Picture race finally had room for a Nolan epic, with a nomination for the mind-bending heist picture Inception (although the nod was bittersweet — the filmmaker was still left off the five-slot Best Directors list after garnering wins). 2011 saw the rule evolve once more, the set ten nominations transitioning to a sliding scale that gave greater weight to the vote count. The potential for a large roster opens up the playing field for a Dark Knight Rises nomination (it will be hard for the Academy to ignore a movie that's already eclipsed the $500 million worldwide box office mark), but inevitable comparisons to The Dark Knight and Inception may leave Nolan's trilogy-capper out of top tier of 2012.
"The question is whether the Dark Knight trilogy is really one that has had that same kind of support among Academy members up until this movie," says Ed Douglas of ComingSoon.net. "The answer is 'no.' Neither Batman Begins nor The Dark Knight received Best Picture nominations … Since The Dark Knight Rises is closer to Batman Begins than The Dark Knight, we're probably going to see another Best Picture snub, and probably only technical awards once again." Childress doesn't see Batman's lack of Best Picture nominations standing in the way of The Dark Knight Rises — in fact, it might work in the movie's favor. "Because of The Dark Knight's association with its big snubbing in 2008, despite getting eight nominations, there's a make-up factor that the Academy doesn't shy away from, especially when the films are of great quality and deserve to be in the conversation anyway." Nolan's lack of Best Director nominations adds to the "we owe him one" mentality found in the Academy thinking. "There's an inside track for it that is only accentuated with it being one of the best-reviewed films of 2012."
It's hard to believe, but Oscars voters are people too. And like anyone with Internet at their fingertips, ears and eyes to pick up on the latest campaigning, and minds that have to make sense of it all, they're aware of the almighty buzz. Nathaniel Rogers of The Film Experience puts it into perspective: "Though I am weary of the internet's strange obsession with The Academy owing Chris Nolan for The Dark Knight (most filmmakers would kill to be snubbed to the tune of eight nominations and two wins for a single blockbuster in a non Oscar-friendly genre), I do recognize the sheer force of its angry wall of fandom and the estimable endurance of the mainstream media's bandwagon bitching about the self same "snub." AMPAS is not an impermeable monolithic fortress but an organization made up of people with different opinions who are, like any other people, subject to influence by way of public opinion."
History aside, The Dark Knight Rises has found ample footing for an Oscar run in positive feedback. Critics and moviegoers alike laud the film. On the popular polling site Metacritic, The Dark Knight Rises holds a score of 78/100 from critics and an 8.7 from users, compared to The Dark Knight (82/100 from critics and an 8.9 from users), and previous Best Picture winners like The Artist (89/100 from critics and an 7.9 from users), The King's Speech (88/100 from critics and an 8.4 from users), and The Hurt Locker (94/100 from critics and an 7.0 from users). Ropes of Silicon founder Brad Brevet believes positive reviews swing voters, and The Dark Knight Rises has won over the right people. "[Roger] Ebert's review didn't help but [New York Times critic Mahnola] Dargis loving it is pretty big. [LA Times critic Kenneth] Turan was big on it as well. It's probably a no-brainer for a Best Pic nom, but probably a pat on the back and a placement outside the top five when all is said and done."
Many believe the comic book foundation of The Dark Knight Rises, its predecessors, and its successors is the fatal flaw that will keep the genre from ever finding Oscar gold, but if there's anyone who can pull through, it will be Nolan. The Artist won the hearts of cineastes with its throwback to the Golden Age. Nolan does the same thing with his Batman films, employing old school stylings of grandeur in the vein of David Lean and Stanley Kubrick, albeit with a dark, superheroic edge." The Dark Knight series has elevated the superhero genre to art in the same way that the Godfather did for gangster films and The Lord of the Rings did for fantasy," an anonymous Oscar voter tells Hollywood.com. The Academy member, in his 60s, put his vote with Nolan in 2008 and is more than ready to do it again with The Dark Knight Rises. "I personally nominated the Dark Knight for Best Picture and as of now, will certainly do the same for The Dark Knight Rises. It has all of the brilliant filmmaking elements that Dark Knight had, minus of course the remarkable performance of Heath Ledger. If Dark Knight Rises falls short in any way, it might simply be that no performance stands out to the extent of Ledger's. However, Gary Oldman's portrayal of Commissioner Gordon has consistently been the heart of these films and Anne Hathaway is easily the best Catwoman ever."
In a discussion between two vets of the Oscar race, Anne Thompson of Indiewire/Thompson on Hollywood and Kris Tapley of In Contention, Tapley questions whether Warner Bros. will even campaign for The Dark Knight Rises. The studio has a full slate of potential awards contenders, including Ben Affleck's Argo, Clint Eastwood's Trouble with the Curve, and Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby. Is there room for TDKR? Thompson is confident they will. "They're going to go for it because they went for Inception. You can tell: Nolan worked it. He went everywhere, he accepted every award from every guild. He could not be more eager and I think he was very disappointed." A "For Your Consideration" campaign for Dark Knight Rises has a lot to offer: after all, Nolan has yet to be honored and this is the grand finale of a massive franchise. The triumph could swing both ways — 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 went out with a bang but failed to hook voters. On the other side, Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings found success in its final installment (but that was after three consecutive years of LOTR, unlike the four-year gap between Dark Knight and 2012's sequel). There's a solid case for why the film should take a Best Picture nomination.
If history repeats itself, Batman's last act should walk away with at least one gold statue. "The Dark Knight Rises should have no trouble finding a handful of technical nominations," says Rogers. "Contrary to the Internet's belief system, the Academy actually likes Batman and especially The Dark Knight. His past seven films have shared 15 Oscar nominations and three wins and roughly half of that tally comes from the movie everyone claims was snubbed." But if The Dark Knight Rises doesn't swoop in and pick up the big award of the night this time around, fans shouldn't fret: there's always the reboot.
Follow Matt Patches on Twitter @misterpatches
[Photo Credit: Warner Bros.]
More:
Politics of ‘The Dark Knight Rises’: Is Batman of the One Percent or the 99?
Burt Ward on Robin: What It Takes to Bring Batman's Sidekick to Life
'The Dark Knight Rises' Ending and When Fan Service Attacks

Synopsis

Animated series takes Batman into the 21st century with a younger, updated Caped Crusader who is mentored by the retired Bruce Wayne, who is now in his 70s. Known as The Tomorrow Knight, this high-tech superhero has a new winged Batsuit with jet-gliding capabilities and a boldness that assists him in protecting the sleekly futuristic Gotham City. By day, the new Batman is Terry McGinniss, Bruce Wayne's personal assistant. As the new Batman he fights his share of villains and thugs; one of these is Derek Powers, CEO of Wayne-Powers Enterprises, one of Gotham's most nefarious inhabitants and sworn enemy of Batman.